Jack and Sally Tales
by jackandjill2
Summary: My first fan fic I ever wrote! Please be nice- I've written more on . Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

"JACK

Part 1

"JACK! Wake up! It's time for school!"

Jack Skellington, age 15, rolled over, trying to stifle his mother's begging. Failing, he got out of bed and dragged himself to the kitchen. His mother glared at him and handed him a bowl of Jack's favorite cereal. "Ma, I was just getting to the good part in my dream, couldn't I have just…" He glanced at the clock. It said 7:45.

"CRAP!" Jack screamed as downed his cereal and rushed to his bedroom to change. His sister, Haley, giggled at his mistake, and when Jack came back into the kitchen without pants, nearly rolled over laughing after the repeated "CRAP!"

Finally, fully clothed and ready to go, Jack hastily kissed his mother and Haley and dashed outside to find his friend Oliver waiting to walk to school with him.

Oliver was a big guy, complete with muscles and barely any brains. But no amount of muscle or stupidity could hide the nerd that Oliver really was. He knew everything about every bug imaginable, and always had a runny nose, which had earned Jack's nickname for him.

"Hey Oogie. What's up?" Jack called, a little breathless. Oliver- aka Oogie- could tell that Jack had accidentally slept in again. Jack smiled, and added, "yes, I slept in again- you don't have to look all knowingly." The duo laughed.

The day passed normally- Oogie failed his math test, Jack excelled in choir class, and guys high-fived him and girls flirted with Jack. His polite-but-awesome manner, coupled with his amazing singing voice, had gotten him to be the most popular guy in school.

His life was awesome.

Until it was ended.

It started with a letter to his mother, from a man known only as "The Mayor". Her eyes widened, as if in sorrow and fear, as Jack watched her read it. She sent Jack and Haley to their rooms so she could read it alone. Jack, being 15, simply hid behind a wall as he watched his mother lower her head. She wept, and Jack glanced at the letter and squinted out a few sentences: "_I regret to tell you this as this doesn't happen very often, but your husband has passed away, even from here. But, as you know, this town needs a king…"_

He couldn't make out anymore, but he did see that some sort of herb was attached. He shrugged. Though a little worried about his mom, his father had died when Jack was very young. Jack headed to his room, anticipating tomorrow- he loved Saturdays!

Jack had no idea it would be his last alive.

Jack spent the day with Oogie and invited him to dinner. His mother made soup that night. Jack noticed that her eyes were still sorrowful, but much more fearful than the night before.

When it was time for dinner, she gave Jack his soup with a terrible shake in her hand. Jack shoved a spoonful in his mouth, starving. The last thing he thought was, _this tastes a little bitter…_

Then died.

Haley and Oogie screamed, and Jack's mother burst into tears. Oogie eyed the soup, and tasted a spoonful as Jack had. His mother shouted "Oliver! No! There's nightshade…"

And Oogie died too.

Jack slowly blinked his eyes open. He groaned- his head hurt terribly, like he had hit a semi. He raised his arm to massage his temples- and screamed. There was no skin, no muscle, no blood, just bones on his arm. He felt his head, terrified- and again, nothing but bone. Jack looked at his body. He still had his old clothes on, which promptly slid off when he stood, due to the fact that he was now a skeleton.

"Hello? Is anyone out there? Anyone?" Jack called out. A familiar voice called back.

"Jack! Jack, it's Oogie! I'm over here!" Jack screamed again and ran towards his friend's voice… to find, basically, a talking pillowcase.

Jack and Oogie stared at each other, stunned. Finally, Oogie laughed and said, "Ha ha ha! You're naked!" Jack blushed (or hoped he did) and hastily groped around for some leaves and covered himself. Oogie, not laughing, finally said, "Where are we?" to which Jack replied, "I don't know. Let's look around for someone." So they walked. And walked. And walked. All the while, they both thought something was missing from them, besides the obvious. Jack felt like all his memories had been erased… all he could remember of Haley was taking her out trick-or-treating.

Suddenly, a loud cry pierced the night like a blade. Jack and Oogie ran towards the sound, to find 3 small babies, each with a different marking on their blankets. "Where did they come from?" Jack wondered aloud, concerned. Oogie looked undaunted. "Maybe we should leave them here," he said, "I really don't like changing diapers, and besides, what kind of parents puts pictures of locks, lightening bolts, and barrels on their kids' blankets?" he added, laughing. Jack's jaw dropped. "Oogie, what are you talking about? They'll die here! We need to find civilization, and they are coming with us." Oogie shrugged, as if to say,_ Fine, but they are your problem. _

Jack wrapped the babies up, thinking, _that isn't like Oliver at all. He used to baby-sit for extra money! _

Even later, Oogie found something else- a set of dice and a stack of cards. He was surprisingly excited about it, and Jack realized- Oogie must have undergone a personality change when he died. He was now the sadistic gambler that we all know today.

Finally Jack, Oogie, and the 3 babies (Jack called them Lock, Shock, and Barrel according to their markings) came upon a town. It reminded Jack of the horror movies he watched on Halloween. There was a triangular man with the tallest hat Jack had ever seen at the gate, dozing. Jack gave Shock to Oogie (he had been holding her) and prodded the man. "Excuse me, sir? Where are we?" The man jerked awake. His eyes were bloodshot, and there was a frown on his face. As soon as his eyes were in focus, his head spun around to reveal another face, with normal eyes and a smile. Jack and Oogie jumped back as this happened. The man excitedly shouted "Jack! You've arrived! Who are your companions?" "Um, this is Olive-" "My name is Oogie Boogie." Jack stared at him.

_Where did Boogie come from? And why doesn't he go by Oliver anymore? _

"Yeah… and the babies are called Lock, Shock, and Barrel. How do you know my name?" Jack continued. The man smiled at Jack and said "You look exactly like your father did when he came to claim his title, and I know about the tradition of naming first-born Skellington sons Jack." He smiled even wider. "I'll see to it that your friends are comfortable, and-" Jack cut him off, saying "Wait a second. I want answers. Why am I here? What is this place? And what title did my dad claim?"

The Mayor- Jack finally noticed the ribbon on his chest- switched his face again. "You don't even know about Halloween Town? Or that you are next in line for the title of Pumpkin King?"

Jack's jaw dropped again. "King?! I'm 15! I can't be KING!" The Mayor gave Jack a pitiful look. "I'm sorry, Jack. But I simply can't make decisions by myself, and Halloween is only in 7 months! We need to, as you say, get cracking!" His face switched again to the smile. "As I was saying, I'll see to it that Mr. Boogie is comfortable, and that the babies are cared for. The Clown will show you to your house, Jack." With that, an incredibly ugly clown on a unicycle took Jack's arm and whisked him away, Jack screaming his skull off.

Jack, completely terrified and confused, slowly thanked the clown once they arrived at a big house with a gate with the outline of a jack-o-lantern on it (_So THAT'S where the tradition comes from, _Jack thought). The clown saluted Jack and rode away. Jack even more slowly opened the gate and went inside. He explored for a while, and when he went upstairs, found a large bedroom he wasn't quite sure he could sleep in. There was an _electric chair_, for god's sake! But surprisingly, as soon as his head hit the pillow, he was fast asleep.

Jack awoke the next morning, thinking, _Wow. That was the strangest dream…_ he opened his eyes. _Crap._

He heard a distant sound. Puzzled, he got out of bed and followed the sound to the kitchen. There he found a small ghost of a dog smiling at him. Jack's eyes widened.

There was a ghost wiener dog in his house! Jack tentatively took a step forward, extending his hand. The dog immediately flew up and gleefully licked it. Jack smiled.

_I like him…or her._ The dog barked and flew up to one of the cupboards, as if beckoning Jack. He walked to the cupboard and opened it. Inside, there were different types of food, spices marked_ Frog's breath _and _Worm's wart,_ some dog food, and a note. Jack opened it.

_Dear Jack,_

_The dog's name is Zero. Please_

_take good care of him, he's been in the_

_family for centuries._

_And also, I'm very sorry about forcing_

_You into this. Please forgive me._

_ Love,_

_ Your father_

"Hello… what should I call you, sir? Mr. Skellington? Your Scariness?"

"Actually everyone usually calls me Jack.

"Oh… okay, um, Jack."

The Mayor had taken Jack to the town hall to introduce him to all its citizens. Jack had so far greeted the Loch Ness Monster (so small…and a girl, too!), a monster whose head seemed to come up and down like a high-hat cymbal, the devil himself, and many others. He had just been talking to the clown he had met the night before, but Jack's heart wasn't in it, really. He couldn't stop thinking about the note from his dad.

_Of course I forgive him… or do I? I'm DEAD because of him! On the other hand, though…_

Just then, two witches nearly knocked his head off by overexcited brooms ramming into Jack.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, sir! Forgive me, the broom just…" "That's okay, I'm fine, and if you like, you can call me Jack."

_Sigh._ He had to have said that at LEAST 40 times that day!

Meanwhile, Oogie, Lock, Shock, and Barrel had earlier been escorted to a tree house about a ½ mile away from town. The short witch, Isabella, had just left from feeding the babies their breakfast and making sure Oogie had enough food.

Oogie still had no idea why he didn't care about them… they were orphans and everything, but still… nothing. He had a thought… a terrible thought.

_Maybe the switchover messed up my brain…yeah…I'm evil now!_

_If I'm evil, I'm going to need some henchmen eventually, but who? Wait… I can raise those three kids! They can be my henchmen!_

He laughed evilly aloud, confirming his wickedness. The babies stared at him from their room, a little confused, but soon forgot it when Isabella came back to change their diapers.


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2

Part 2

_Jack looked up from the table when he finished his story. Sally stared at him, wide-eyed._

_They were engaged now. Jack had invited Sally over so he could tell his tale- she probably should know._

_She asked a few questions, and then sighed. Sally, in the mood for reminiscing, said "I remember when we first met… do you?"_

Sally looked out to the tower. She looked about 16, but she had actually been created about 3 years ago. Her creator, Dr. Finkelstien, insisted that she wasn't ready to leave the house. Sally thought otherwise and had finally perfected the art of "deadly" nightshade, and was now sitting in town square, enjoying the outdoors. She was unfamiliar with the residents of Halloween, though she did know the basics, like what the Mayor looked like, the Pumpkin King's first name and small things like that. She waved cheerfully at everyone, happy to be out. A tall boy with a huge bow tie caught her eye. Sally was surprised- she didn't know there were other teenagers in Halloween Town! She waved a little reluctantly, and he waved back. Then the boy actually started walking towards her and sat down on the bench right beside her!

_Oh my god!!_ She thought as the boy said "Hello!" "H-hi," she stammered back, embarrassed.

"I don't think I've seen you before. What's your name?" "I'm Sally. You?" She managed to gather a little confidence. "I'm Jack. Pleased to meet you."

"You, too Ja- wait a second- you-you-you're the Pumpkin King!"_ And you're talking to me! _She added in her head. Jack stared at her, and replied with "Yes, I am. You don't get out much do you?" Sally chuckled. "You could say that." She said.

"Why?"

"SALLY!"

Sally cringed. "That's why." She turned around, a hugely fake smile on her face. "Doctor! How are you?" "Sally._ Time to go home."_ He said menacingly.

"Please let me stay! Please! I never get to go out, I want to know-" she was stopped mid-beg by the doctor grabbing her arm and pulling her towards her home. She kept pleading, Jack witnessed, and finally, Sally got angry too and pulled on a thread hanging from her arm. Due to the doctor's pulling, her arm came cleanly off, much to Jack's surprise, and Sally ran in the opposite direction, towards the cemetery. Jack ran after here, and distantly heard the doctor yelling "You'll need to come back eventually! _This_ might come in handy!"

Jack found Sally up on Spiral Hill, crying with her face buried in her remaining arm. He silently walked up the hill and laid his bony hand on her shoulder. Sally jumped a little, realizing who it was, and hastily began to wipe her tears and collect herself. Jack stopped her. "Sally, who was that man? I mean, I know who it was, but…" "He is my creator. I'm a rag doll, Jack," she pointed to her stumpy arm, and continued with "created for cooking, cleaning, and company. But I'm restless… I don't think he intended that." She chuckled grimly, but Jack remained solemn. He asked, "Why do you stay there if it's against your will?"

Sally sighed. "Well, I know he loves me, and it's for my own good in the end, and to be frank, where else would I go? Everyone that even knows I exist doesn't even like me- I'm not scary enough." Jack's eyes got a little taller- he didn't exactly have eyebrows to raise- and they heard a familiar voice in the distance.

"SALLY! You come home NOW or you will not get your arm back! Home! NOW!!"

Sally sighed again. "I have to go, Jack. I really appreciate your listening. Thank you." With that, she smiled weakly, and walked down the hill and out of the graveyard, leaving behind a dumbfounded Jack.

"Jack? Jack I asked you a question! Please answer me!"

Jack snapped back to reality. "Sorry, I was daydreaming. Yes, I think we should use the orange banners, the black is… well, just use orange."

He was a little annoyed. Couldn't the Mayor even decide between black and orange banners without his opinion?

But the truth was, Jack simply couldn't concentrate. He couldn't stop thinking about the pretty girl he had met 2 weeks ago. He hadn't seen her since, and was getting a little worried.

Sally, in turn, had been slightly shirking her "domestic duties" (chores the doctor didn't want to do) and instead was thinking of Jack. He had been so nice… so kind… she could easily have been his friend if it weren't for the obvious barriers (Dr. Finkelstien, the fact that Jack was King)

That day, she simply couldn't stand it anymore. She _needed_ to at least take another glimpse of Jack- or at the very least, the outside world.

So she concocted a plan. She would dump out all the contents of the doctor's favorite spice (worm's wart, of course) out the window. She did so, thinking _okay, on to phase 2._

Sally took the empty jar into the doctor's lab. "Umm… excuse me, doctor?" "What?" he replied gruffly. "Well… there's a slight problem… we're completely out of worm's wart." "Shoot… and right in the middle of an experiment, too… where's Igor?"

Sally flinched. She hadn't thought of that. Thinking fast, she said, "B-b-but, don't you need his help? I-I'm no good in here, and my soup is flavorless without worm's wart."

He seemed to think on that. "Hmm… all that is true… all right, I'll get you some money and you can go get the spice- but try anything else, and I swear, I will…" "Of course, doctor! I won't do anything bad or silly or anything! Thank you!" _YES!! _She thought and a little Sally in her head was doing multiple cartwheels of joy. She could go out!

Legally, too!

Sally gazed at all the people, amazed at the fact that she didn't have to worry about the doctor finding her. She spent plenty of time looking for the worm's wart, and conversed with the townspeople, and finally bought the spice. Sighing, she started to head home. Then, she heard music… where was it coming from? Intrigued, Sally followed the sounds and found a small band composed of a saxophone, a bass, and a . She smiled and swayed in time to the music. The saxophone player winked at her, and she tossed a small coin in his direction. When they finished, Sally and the band's members chatted and gossiped for a while, and somehow the conversation turned to the Pumpkin King. Each member had a different opinion of him, all good ones though. Then Sally finally remembered one of the biggest reasons she had so needed to get out.

"By the way… where is Jack usually at about this time?"

"Well," replied the bassist, "he's usually either heading home or still with the Mayor in town hall." "Okay… oh!" she realized that the pumpkin sun was starting to turn the sky pink and orange. "I have to go… it was a pleasure to meet you all!"

"You as well, Miss…" "Sally."

She nodded and smiled, and ran off towards town hall. When she finally arrived, she peeked in cautiously, and breathed somewhat sharply.

_There he is…!_

Jack yawned. Clearly, he had had a long day. He said to the Mayor, "Really, it's almost seven, I need to start heading home, and Zero will be getting hungry…" "Oh, all right, we'll continue with the banner problem tomorrow." Jack sighed, then started to get up. As he lifted his head, Sally saw it snap towards where she was standing, like he had a double take. A huge grin appeared on his face. "Sally!" he exclaimed, and jogged towards her. She also cracked a broad smile, thinking _I can't believe he remembered me!_ She stepped out of her hiding place as Jack said to her cheerily "What are you doing here? I thought you weren't allowed out!" "Well, we just happened to run out of worm's wart during one of the doctor's most fascinating experiments." She lifted her small bag to indicate she had been out shopping.

Jack walked her home, talking of random things, and when they finally reached the giant stone tower that was Sally's house, Jack said to her, "Sally, it was really great to see you again, but it was especially great that you didn't have to sneak out or anything." They both laughed, and Jack stretched out his hand. Sally stared at the long, bony fingers for a second, then took it and they shook hands in a gesture of friendship. Jack then turned and started back home. Sally couldn't help but think of how hungry Zero would be- whoever that was.

She went inside to find Dr. Finkelstien glaring at her. "Took you quite a while just to get a jar of worm's wart." He said maliciously. "Who was that you were talking to just now, Sally?" She then remembered just who Jack was. Talking to him, he seemed like just another guy, and it made her forget that he was actually a King. She managed to stammer out, "Um, uh, n-no one, j-just…" her voice dropped to a near whisper. "J-just Jack."

"Jack! Jack _Skellington?!"_

She nodded meekly.

"I am thoroughly surprised that such an important being would give you the time of day. In fact-"

"Why didn't you tell me he was only seventeen? You knew I had met him before! And even before then, you painted him as some evil, seven-hundred-year old monster who never talked to anyone unless he was scaring the living daylights out of them!"

Sally had never been this angry before, which left the doctor stunned. Even she herself didn't know why this bothered her so. But it did, and that's all that mattered. She stomped to her room, and slammed herself onto the bed after slamming the door.

Eventually, she fell asleep. She dreamed that she was in a big white room and she was wearing a beautiful midnight blue gown. The band she had met earlier magically appeared, and the saxophone player winked at her again, as they started to play a waltz. Sally sighed, then jumped as someone tapped her shoulder. She turned, and there was Jack, looking even more handsome than usual in a black tuxedo. He held out his hand as he had did so before, and said to her, "May I dance with you?". Sally smiled, took his hand, and said, "Of course, Jack."

They danced all over the dreamland floor, and Sally knew that she was falling for Jack.

She smiled in her sleep.

When Jack returned home, he found Zero whimpering by the front door. Jack gasped out, "Oh!-I'm so sorry Zero, I just plain forgot!" He ran to the cupboard and poured out a copious amount of dog food for him. Zero flew in and immediately began to munch on the dog food. Jack sighed and retreated to a chair.

"Hey, Zero- you know that girl I told you about? Sally?" The dog looked up briefly, as if to reply,_ Yes, Jack- you never stop talking about her._ "Well, I saw her again today, doing some shopping. That's why I was late- I wanted to walk her home." He paused. "She's really special, I think." He sighed, and went upstairs to bed. His last thought that day was:

_She was even prettier not crying…_


	3. The End

Epilogue

Epilogue

Jack and Sally sat at the table, remembering- Jack of the family he had suddenly left behind, Sally of the horrible years she had spent cooped up. Finally, Sally spoke, asking Jack, "Do you know what happened to your sister-Haley, I think it was." "Yes, her name was Haley, and no, I don't know what happened to her. We haven't spoken in years- she thinks I'm dead, remember?"

Then Sally got an idea. "You know Jack, there is a way to see her again. You could go into the Real World like you do every year on Halloween, and visit Haley." Jack's eye sockets widened at the prospect of seeing his beloved sister again. He said to Sally "I want you to go with me- you'll love Haley, and she'll love you.

And with that, the next day they looked Haley Skellington up in the scare files together. They discovered that she was now officially called Haley Fischer. Jack and Sally found her address, and they were off. Jack was so excited!

He and Sally walked up to a small suburban house not far form where Jack and Haley had grown up (they had taken a small detour to Jack's old house) and glancing at Sally, who gave him an encouraging nod and smile, knocked on the door. It opened to a young woman who looked exactly like Jack remembered his mother.

"Haley," he breathed out, and she screamed and slammed the door. Jack sighed and knocked again. The door opened a small sliver and Haley said "Wh-who are you?" "Haley, it's me, Jack, your brother." "Ha!" the door opened at once, a contemptuous look on Haley's face. "My brother died ten years ago, and I'm not fooled by some guy in a costume. Good day." She tried to slam the door, but Jack kept it open. Sally whispered, "You need to do something only _you_ did so she'll believe you!" Jack racked his brains, and then remembered a song he used to sing to Haley when she was a little girl. Jack struggled to open the door, then grabbed Haley's hand, making her look at him. He sang sweetly, softly:

_Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high,_

_There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby._

Haley froze. Recognition shined in her eyes as she whispered Jack's name. He smiled and pulled her into a hug. Both siblings began to cry.

Later, Sally was introduced and when Haley's husband came in, he nearly flipped his lid screaming at Jack until Haley calmed him down and explained.

Haley thought of something. "Hey Jack- what happened to Oliver? He ate the spiked soup too." Jack and Sally's eyes darkened as Jack told the tale of that Christmas, when Jack took over as Santa and Oogie, or Oliver, was vanquished. Haley doubled over with laughter as Jack told of the little blond boy he had given the first present to. "What's so funny?" he asked. Haley, with tears in her eyes, replied "I always wondered who gave my son that shrunken head!" Jack and Sally stared at each other in horror, then started laughing too as Jack suddenly recognized the living room.

Just then, a boy about nine or so came inside and surprisingly wasn't as afraid of Jack as his spineless father was- probably because he had the same name.

"You remembered the Skellington tradition?" Jack-the-skeleton said. "Mom- who is the guy on the couch with the bat on his neck?"

Haley's eyes welled up with tears as she said the words she thought she would never say:

"That's your Uncle Jack, sweetheart."


End file.
